7 Days 'til Halloween: Goblin Brain

We had the family over for dinner on Sunday. Niece Devin arrived holding something clutched to her chest, hidden by her arms wrapped tightly around it. It was a belated birthday present for me.

"I have a story to tell you" she said.

Apparently, her softball team had an away game that day. In Russia. While there, they visited a national park. The park ranger showed them were an ancient tree once stood, before it mysteriously burned down. It was said to have a goblin living in it. In the ashes, something was found.

Her tale told, Devin handed her old uncle his gift, a custom prop, she made herself.

No cabinet of curiosities, anywhere in the world, has an oddity as wonderful and special as this one is to me.

Hand of Glory Prop: Take 2

The Hand of Glory prop has a bit more age to it now. I weathered the lashing (dark brown paint wash) and gave the candles a layer of grime (yellow ocher tinted Mod Podge). Those elements looked too new in the first version. Small changes that really did make the prop better looking (I think at least).

Hand of Glory Prop

I've created a new prop for my cabinet of curiosities - a Hand of Glory.

The basic legend is, they were used as a tool by thieves well versed in the occult. The severed hand of a robber or murderer, executed for their crimes, was fashioned into a macabre candelabra. For each candle lit, one person in a home would sleep without waking until the flame was put out, allowing a thief to steal away without fear of being caught.

I imagined my Hand of Glory a very old and well used one... traded, bought or killed for by numerous nefarious criminals in dark pubs and alleys over many, many years. The hand has become mummified and skeletal, not as fresh as it was when quickly and crudely, snapped off a forgotten ne'er-do-well pirate's corpse hanging on the gallows long ago. It was created in haste during some dark ritual... an exposed forearm bone was simply lashed a wooden candlestick keeping it upright.

I should mention that although I used real candles in this prop, it was only made to display them, not safely burn them. They were lit just for these pictures, and even then, for only less than a minute.

This piece started as a zombie hand I was making to rise out of the ground for the Halloween yard display this year, but a new idea for it hit me.

Raiders' 30th: Cargo Truck Hood Ornament Artifact

A new addition to my Cabinet of Curiosities. This odd artifact was said to be found in Egypt with other items salvaged after an international incident during the 1930s covered up by the US Government. I acquired it from someone who I can only say was one of few "top men" working in a secret warehouse somewhere. Even though it's just a rusty old Mercedes-Benz truck hood ornament, it seemed important enough to tag and save.

Creating an Indiana Jones relic is a tall order considering the subject manner and that some of the coolest props ever made came from those movies. Many of which are often recreated. I decided to keep this one simple, fun and in theme with the past "storytelling" artifacts I've made.

It's from one of the best moments, among many, in Raiders of the Lost Ark when our hero was tossed out of the cargo truck and grabbed the hood ornament in a desperate attempt to hang on. Then of course, in cliffhanger fashion, it breaks off! I've always wondered what happened to that emblem. In my imagination, at some point the US Government went in and cleaned up all the evidence of the Ark incidents, even the smallest details.

It was real easy to make. Using reference of a new one online, I cut out the shape from foamcore (about 3" in diameter). Knowing it was going to look beat up, rusty and 70 plus years old when finished I didn't stress on making my cuts, dimensions and angles exact or perfect. As seen in the movie, a small bottom edge of the ring seemed to have remained on the hood stand after it broke off. I also cut away more of it to add some weathered character as if been laying in the road for years.

I spray glued on a coat of dirt from the backyard for texture. Once dry I dusted off the excess and built up a few mottled coats of black, brown and orange craft acrylic for color. While wet I added another light dusting of dirt.

I made the label in Photoshop and printed onto card stock. I wanted to keep it unsophisticated, as if hastily scribbled in the field. After I trimmed it, I glued on construction paper made circles as old fashioned reinforcing rings and punched out a hole for the string. It's all aged with coffee.

 On a side note while on the subject of Indy artifact making, I posted earlier this month I was going to make Elsa's lighter from Last Crusade and share the "how-to". Believe it or not, it actually turned into a more involved project than I planned on. I've had to put on the back burner for now, but it will show up down the line here soon.

Voodoo Devin's Zombie Bile

Made this goofy prop with leftover slime saved as a souvenir from this season's Brainsurge. The other materials are a used soda bottle, a cork and an old Halloween cupcake topper that niece Devin gave me last year.

Actually Devin gave me the soda bottle as well last year, with a cute note to make something out of, but I never did. I kept safe though and will finally now find a place in my Halloween decor this October.

Thought it fun to call it Voodoo Devin's in thanks to her contributions to the prop. The slime as well has a bit of connection, Devin came to visit her old uncle at work and be in the audience for a taping of Brainsurge this year.

I designed the label to be intentionally less creepy and more lighthearted looking with an "old timey" grocery or pharmacy style. Feel free to use, but I'm keeping the slime recipe a closely guarded secret.

St. Patrick's Day Artifact

When I created Christmas relics for the family last December, one special person was missing from the list, my niece Devin. Her planned present became a long and crooked road of creative challenges that is a story best told another time. I decided to just give up and push that idea to Christmas 2011.

But, I still owed Devin something for 2010.

My Mom's annual St. Patrick's Day family dinner gathering was the perfect opportunity to give Devin a very belated gift. Especially inspired by the theme with a very personal tooth touch!

I hid this tiny, old wooden box in the living room for her to find...

Once found and opened, she discovered this inside...

The tooth is one of Devin's own recently lost baby teeth. She gave to me (with permission from her mother and a note of explanation for the Tooth Fairy) to make something spooky for Halloween, such as putting it in a jar and calling it a troll tooth.

A terrific idea, but I thought a fun surprise tweaking the concept as a gift for her on St. Patrick's day.

The box, which felt somewhat Celtic, is one I've had on my shelves for years. Before this, it held unique coins I have. I thought niece Devin was more important than a NYC subway token, a Canadian coin, four unused arcade tokens and a penny pressed flat with some unreadable logo from Disneyland.

The tooth pillow is a blob of Crayola Model Magic wrapped in a swatch of green fabric. I stuffed it inside and formed the indent for the tooth with a simple press from a finger tip. The label is computer typed, then printed, cut out, aged with coffee and glued on once dry.

Historical fact: The village of Tuamgraney is home to what is believed to be one of Ireland's oldest living oak trees, estimated at over a 1000 years old.

Ashes of Vampire

I made a new dark magic ingredient bottle for my ever growing collection of witchcraftian supplies. I thought the remains of a sunburned vampire would have to be needed in some necromancer's recipe.

This was a really quick to create, prop making palette cleanser between projects. The only unique trick used on this one that I've never done before on other such bottles was scratching up the glass with heavy grit sandpaper so it felt more antique. I like the effect and will definitely do more often.

Below is the label art I drew, scanned and finished in Photoshop. Feel free to use on your own prop if you want. Click to enlarge.

Christmas Relics

I created a new collection of curiosities as gifts to the family this Christmas. All were based on stories, movies or legends they liked as kids. Click on images to enlarge.

Boat Plank from the "MAX"
For my brother in law Paul. A weathered old plank from a small boat found on the shore of a wild island where some say "things" live. Circa 1963.

Keepsakes of "D. Gale"
For my sister Monica. An old box, circa 1900, containing odd pieces of yellow brick wrapped in blue gingham.

Pirate Edward Low's Flag
For my brother Ted Lowe. The tattered remains of the actual pirate flag flown by the infamous Captain Edward "Ned" Low.

Martian War Telegram
For my father.  A 1953 telegram sent to Gen. Mann in Santa Rosa CA. alerting him that "cylinders" have crashed all around the world. Dr. Clayton Forrester is also mentioned and to be retained for consultation.

Unicorn Horn
For my sister Megan. A rare unicorn fawn's first horn shed like "baby teeth" at 1000 years old before maturing.

Sankara Stone
For my brother in law Kirk. A fabled Sankara stone found by Prof. Henry Jones Jr.

Nanny Wanted Ad
For my Mom. A clipping from a 1910 London Times newspaper page featuring a "help wanted" ad for a nanny at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.

Antique Prospector Business Card

I recently made, sorry I mean, acquired this item. It's a unique addition to my cabinet of curiosities. What's most unusual to me is who knew prospectors and miners would have business cards? But I guess they had to self market themselves like many do to make a living, especially for this guy who had such remote territory to cover being in the North Pole.

It's a nice companion piece to my strange Abominable Snow Monster of the North tooth.

My Cabinet of Curiosities: A Little Princely Sword

This is the latest acquisition for my cabinet of curiosities - a princely sword. This tiny weapon cannot be linked to any known world culture or period. Interestingly enough, it seems to be made from particular elements found only in asteroids, but no metallurgists or archaeologists can confirm this for sure. What are the facts are on it's old label. Click images to enlarge.

I realized it had been awhile since I created a new prop for my children's story themed oddities and this idea, inspired by The Little Prince, has been in my head for some time. I took it's design directly from the illustration by author Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

The blade is foamcore, The hand guard is one half a $.99 cent "candy ball" found at a party store. The grip is a cut dowel wrapped 3 times in felt which once painted has a nice rotting leather look (string pulled tight around it creates the ribbing). The pommel is a plastic Xmas ornament. All was given a faux rust treatment with acrylics. The label was done in Photoshop, printed and aged with coffee.

It think it's a fun addition to the Bumble tooth, Sleepy Hollow horseshoe. Capt. Hook hand and Washington denture.

Halloween '10 - Sinister Saint Novena Candles

Awhile back on my web comic, Para Abnormal, I did a series of Saints whose patronages where strange, somewhat sinister and very true (click here). I decided these guys needed their own novena candles to include in my Oct. 31st decor.

I chose two cartoons from the series perfect for Halloween...

Thankfully, living in Los Angeles, novena candles can be found almost everywhere and actually bought mine at the corner mini market for $1.50 each. The original cartoons needed tweaking to be candle ready. Using Photoshop, I got rid of the captions, elongated the panels and adjusted the size overall...

Then I printed on vellum, flipped the computer image and printed again on the back of the same vellum sheet. This helps to keep the colors saturated and not washed out from the flame back light. After cutting out I just glued on the glass. Want to make your own? Feel free to click on the "candle ready" cartoon panel above to enlarge and swipe it. Just keep my credits on there is all I ask.

IMPORTANT: the labels won't hold up well to extended heating from the candles if left lit for a very long period of time. There may be warping, even browning. Glue them down well and far below the glass lip. A good general rule I follow... never leave candles burning out of sight!